Some News

If I haven't already told you in person, here is my Big News: I'm moving to New York. I'm moving to New York for a few reasons, but perhaps the most important thing to talk about is why I'm leaving Kansas City. 

Kansas City and I have had an excellent run the last 19 months. In all honesty, I feel like I've lived here for about 5 years. Of all the places I've lived (and there have been many: Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, USVI), Kansas City has felt the most like home to me, a feeling   that was instantaneous and effortless. In a way, I've lived here for 2 years, if I measure it by combining the two summers, holiday breaks and one fall semester off from college I spent here.

I got to see the Kansas City Royals go to their first World Series in 28 years, and then go again in 2015 after they lost to the Giants. Of all the Kansas City nights I've had, the night we won the World Series will forever be one of my favorites. The energy was electric. We screamed. We popped champagne. We hugged. We drove around the city after we won, cheering and honking at other cars and passersby, playing We Are The Champions. It was one of the coolest experiences of my entire life to be part of something where everyone in one city was on the same page. When does everyone agree on the same thing? Certainly not on facebook and certainly not in real life. But it was real. I have chills just writing about it. 

I've had all the things one could ask for when moving to a brand new city where you don't know anyone: warm summer nights spent on a rooftop with friends, wine and honest conversation; shared laughter over brunch; visits from friends living on the east coast; new lifelong friends and two professional mentors who are among the most important people in my life. 

But it's clear to anyone who knows me an inch deeper than surface level that I'm not content with routine. I believe life should be lived to its fullest possibilities, and for me that translates to not being content with a life comprised of days on repeat. 

I chose to move to Kansas City and I was happy with that decision. I've been happy living here, but the minute I realized that I wasn't stuck was the minute I realized I was free. Kansas City is the place to come back to, not necessarily the place to spend your early 20's. 

​One of my favorite writers is Hunter S. Thompson and to quote him: "Buy the ticket, take the ride. Try new things."
And then to quote myself: Make yourself wildly uncomfortable, take risks and find out if they pay off.

Sometimes they don't, but at least I'll never have to wonder. Be responsible along the way but shake it up and change your point of view. 

I'm not afraid of failing. I'm afraid of not trying. I don't ever want to wonder about what might have been. Maybe I try something and it never gets off the ground. But I attempted it – and that satisfaction far outweighs whatever consequences might come of failure. 

My best friend told me on the phone the other day that "There is something to settling down."

And I will. But I'm not ready yet. 

See you soon, New York.